8:14
by please-callmedean
Summary: The Winchester brothers are getting restless. Metatron's spell is still irreversible. And Castiel's stolen grace is fading fast. But when an old friend of Dean's turns up looking for help, it turns out that maybe things aren't so hopeless after all. GadreelxOC. Based on events in season 9. Rating will probably change as it progresses.
1. Chapter 1

It was precisely 8:14 in the morning when Lara awoke; her muddy brown eyes scanned her environment as she sat up from under makeshift shelter. Running a hand through her matted hair, she listened and watched intently for any sign of intruders to her temporary home.

Not that it could really be called a home.

She had been unable to find anywhere decent to rest for the night, and so her only option had been to take a risk and sleep out in a large dense wood. However she was hopeful that she had finally reached her destination, as she had spied what looked like a large concrete building on her journey through the wood the night before.

Lara stood from her nest of dead leaves and branches and began to gather her handful of belongings, which she then stuffed back into a tattered canvas backpack which had obviously seen better days.

After making sure that any sign of her being there had been obliterate, she slung her bag over her shoulder and scanned the area once again. This was just one of several nervous habits she had picked up over the years.

Once satisfied she was safe to continue her journey, she began to make her way back towards the building she had caught a glimpse of in the night. It didn't take Lara long to find her way back to it, after all it was fairly hard to miss.

Making her way round the right side of it, she saw what she assumed was entrance, only it looked more like a blocked off tunnel with a door stuck in the middle of it. She slipped down the slope above the tunnel and skipped down the few steps which led towards the door. Hoisting her slipping bag back onto her shoulder and praying this was the place she had been searching for, she took a deep breath and knocked on the iron cast door.


	2. Chapter 2

Lara could her knocks resonating inside the building which made the wait seem even longer, but finally she heard a key in a lock and a bolt being drawn back. The large door heaved open and an impressively tall man stood before her. He tucked a stray strand of his hair behind his ear whilst staring at her with suspicion.

"Can I help you?" his voice was gentle which was only slightly reassuring for Lara, given the height difference they had.

"I'm uh, looking for the Winchester's? I was told they'd be here"

"Who sent you?" his eyes narrowed in suspicion as he looked her up and down.

"Garth did, the uh hunter turned werewolf?" she'd never really been scared of much, but hostility didn't exactly thrill her.

However it was obvious he recognised Garth's name and his features softened with a mixture of relief and surprise.

"Huh, so you're like Garth then?"

"No I'm human. You can go ahead and check if you want" Lara rolled up her sleeve and offered him her arm.

The giant man eyed her again and reached into his back pocket, pulling out a small silver knife and a small via of water. He doused the knife in what Lara assumed was holy water and held her already outstretched arm to make the cut. After nothing happened he seemed satisfied enough and stowed the knife and vial back in his pocket.

"Well uh, come in then"

He held the door open and motioned inside as she rolled her sleeve back down and stepped through the door.

"Sammy what's taking so long man?" a familiar voice called out from below and Lara sighed with relief.

"Oh I never got your name, I'm-"

"Sam, right? I'm Lara, I know your brother" she smiled up at Sam, who looked at her in surprise in return.

He led the way down the curved staircase as Lara took in the surroundings. It was built like a bunker, but not like one she had ever seen before. This was actually functioning for once, working electricity and everything from what she could see. The entire bunker had been built deep into the earth, so that the walls stretched high above as if they touched the sky above.

"Hey Dean, someone here who knows you" Sam called out to his brother as they reached the bottom of the stairwell.

Lara was still staring at the interior when Dean appeared from a room ahead of them, holding a beer in his hand and tired look on his handsome face.

However the tired look soon disappeared once he recognised who was standing with his young brother and he broke into a large smile.

"Well well well, never thought I'd see little Lara again" he chuckled with delight as he pulled her into a warm embrace. She laughed with him as they hugged each other tightly, breathing in his familiar scent.

"Hey less of the little thanks, I'm taller than most girls" she pouted at him playfully as they pulled back from each other.

"Oh yeah like an inch taller, hey round of applause for that growth spurt" he winked at her and took a long swig of his beer. Lara punched his arm lightly and scowled at him as he laughed again.

There was a small cough behind them as they realised Sam was still stood awkwardly behind them watching the events unfold. Lara turned to face him and smiled sheepishly.

"Guess you're wondering how we know each other huh?"


	3. Chapter 3

"So let me get this straight, Dean killed your entire family?"

Sam had an incredulous look on his face as they all sat round the large wooden table in what the boys had decided to call the research room, and Lara could understand why, considering the absurd amount of books and files they had littered around.

"Yep, that's pretty much the gist of it" Lara took a sip from her beer and shrugged her shoulders like it was a normal thing to talk about.

"Because they were vampires?"

"Yep"

Sam looked from Lara to Dean; still trying to establish the story he'd just been told.

"Like I told you Sammy, you were still in college and dad found a nest in Wichita so I went to check it out" Dean smirked as Sam shook his head and laughed.

"Yeah you told me that years ago, but you kinda failed to mention you'd killed a family and made a friend"

"Wasn't exactly that simple though Sam, they'd been recruiting newbies for the nest, and my family were next in line. Guess it was just luck that I came home late that day when they'd already been turned. Well, some sort of luck.." Lara fell silent and slumped back in her seat, her face glum.

Sam watched as Dean got up and walked round the other side to where she sat. He drew up a seat beside her and pulled her into a hug. Lara nestled her head into his neck as her eyes stung with tears. Her throat felt as small as a pinhole as she tried to choke them back.

"I'm so sorry, I wish it hadn't happened to you" Dean held her close and shut his eyes, trying to quell every emotion he felt.

Sam got up from his chair quietly, and grabbed a pile of books before heading out the room, leaving the two of them embraced. Sam looked back at them one last time, his heart felt heavy as he realised how similar the brothers were to Lara. He sighed heavily and turned back to go to his room when he was faced with a man in a trench coat.

"Jesus Cas, give some warning when you do that"

"Sam" The angel nodded at him, with yet again no emotion on his face.

"Where've you been man?"

"Dean wanted pie" Castiel held up a plastic bag and Sam rolled his eyes, of course Dean wanted pie.

"Well uh give him a couple minutes okay? He's a little preoccupied right now"

Cas frowned and looked past Sam towards the research room, where Dean was still comforting Lara.

"Who is the female?" He tilted his head to the side slightly, looking thoroughly confused.

"An old friend of his, leave em' for a while okay?" Sam stared at him for a while, trying to decipher if he'd understood the instruction or not.

"Okay buddy well I'm gonna go do more research and you can do whatever it is that angels do" He patted him on the shoulder and began to walk off .

Cas continued to frown at the pair and wandered up the steps towards them. Dean noticed his presence and released Lara from their embrace, rubbing his eyes quickly.

"Hey man, it's uh, really not a good time"

Cas slowly lifted up the bag he held in his hand as he stared at them both.

"I bought pie"


	4. Chapter 4

Lara had decided it was best to let the two men discuss private matters, and so she began to explore the bunker by herself. She didn't look in every single room, because for one there were too many to count, and it also felt like an invasion of the brother's privacy. After all, this wasn't her home.

She tried to suppress all the memories of when everything had changed, it had always been a struggle to try and forget her family and move on. But Lara had never been one to forget anything important, and she still woke up screaming for her family in the night.

Shaking her head as if to try and clear her thoughts away, she continued down what a never ending maze of corridors. A door further down opened and Sam headed out and made his way down the corridor without noticing her. Lara got the feeling he wasn't one to make conversation quite so easily as Dean could.

She sighed a little and decided to head back to the research room, figuring the boys had had enough time to talk by now.

Lara entered the room where she'd left Dean and was glad to see she wasn't interrupting a conversation, the man in the trench coat was stood reading a book at the back of the room whilst Dean still sat at the table. Both men looked up as she walked up the steps into the room.

"There you are, thought I'd lost you somewhere" Dean smiled at her as she sat down in the chair opposite him.

"You can't get rid of me that easy"

"I wouldn't want to"

She laughed at him, and the man at the other end of the room approached them. Dean looked over at him and motioned for him to sit with them.

"Cas this is an old friend of mine, Lara this is Cas, he's an angel of the lord"

Lara stared at Dean, an unimpressed look on her face.

"An angel? Seriously, Dean?"

"Yeah, I'd get him to prove it but his mojo is pretty much out"

She pondered this information for a moment, leaning back in her chair as she did.

"Okay, he's an angel. So, what's new?" She examined her fingernails closely and looked at Dean.

"You're kidding, right? No 'You're crazy angels don't exist' speech? Just okay?" Dean stared at her in disbelief as Castiel mirrored her and examined his own fingernails.

"Well if demons and vampires and god knows what else can exist, why can't angels?"

"She is much more accepting of the truth than you were Dean" Cas' deep gravelly voice surprised Lara and she turned to look at his innocent face.

Dean scowled at him with annoyance and looked down at the book he'd been reading beforehand.

"Well as fun as this conversation has been, I have a question to ask" Lara leant forward over the table and rested her chin in her hands. Dean grunted at her without looking up from his book.

"Where the hell is the shower in this place? I stink like crap"

"Down the corridor across from this room, second door on your left"

She stood from her chair and began to leave the room, pausing once she got to the steps.

"Y'know Cas, for an angel you're pretty damn cute"

And with a sly wink and a smile, she trotted down the steps out of sight.

* * *

**apologies for the lack of updates recently, started a new job and i haven't had much inspiration recently and i wanted this chapter to be decent. anyway, if someone could review the story so far i would be completely grateful, even if it's like one word:) so yep, hope you enjoyed this chapter and the next should be on it's way soon! xo**


	5. Chapter 5

It was the best part of half an hour before Lara reappeared from the shower, her long dark hair still wet and tangled when she strode back into the research room.

"Jeez the water pressure on that thing is insane" Dean closed the book he'd been reading and pushed it away from him with one hand, stretching the other arm over his head. Lara sighed with content as she leaned against a bookcase opposite Dean.

"Where'd your angel buddy disappear off to?" Lara began to untangle her hair with her fingers as Dean rose from his chair and wandered over to a small cabinet.

"Who knows, he goes off by himself now and then. I think he likes the alone time" He shrugged before taking two bottles from the cabinet. Popping the caps off both of them, he handed one to Lara and clinked it together with his own.

"Y'know since I got here you've had three beers already. And it's not even midday yet"

"Hasn't stopped you joining in with me"

Lara smirked at him and sipped her own bottle, "That's beside the point and you know it"

Dean sighed, "A lot of things have been going wrong lately, it's getting difficult to handle everything at once"

"You're so different from all those years ago Dean. You're more… grown up I guess"

"I'm tired is what I am"

Lara set her bottle down on the book case behind her before taking Deans and placing it with hers, she took his hands and searched his face for any remnants of the Dean she had once known. The Dean who, although had issues, still found time to be positive, still had hope. All that had since faded from his luminous green eyes, whatever problem he now faced had taken its toll on his hope.

"Dean whatever's happening, whatever mess you've gotten yourself into this time, let me help okay? You have to let me help you in some way" She gripped his hands tighter in desperation, Dean was really all she had left anymore and she wasn't about to let him retreat into himself.

Dean looked down at his shoes, his eyes glistened with tears he was struggling to hold back. "I can't let you get involved. I can't. It's too dangerous."

"For once will you let me decide that for myself? I'm a big girl Dean, I know what I can and can't handle. Now tell me what's going on, and what that mark on your arm is" He looked at her in surprise, then down at his arm where the Mark of Cain sat glaring up at him. "Yeah you did a pretty shitty job of covering it up. Now talk"

* * *

**my apologies that it's been so long since i updated, i haven't had much inspiration lately but i thought i'd get this chapter out the way so the story can pick up:) xo**


	6. Chapter 6

Dean rubbed his temples, the pounding headache that had been plaguing him for the past week was gradually getting worse, and as hard as he tried to ignore it, it never left him. He had explained everything that had occurred since Sam had begun the Hell trials. Metatron's spell, the angels turned suicide bombers, Cas' grace, the Mark of Cain, Cas' ex army of angels, which was not something he had really wanted to admit to Lara. But he had anyway, he had told her every little thing that happened and she listened to all of it, never once asking a question. After he'd stopped speaking, she'd nodded slowly and left the room, a blank expression on her face. Dean left her, it was up to her how she dealt with it and he wasn't going to trying and be polite about it.

The door to the bunker opened and closed as Dean sat with his eyes closed, listening to the footsteps come down the stairs.

"Dean" He looked up as Cas sat opposite him and sighed slightly.

"Hey Cas, why d'you use the door?"

"My grace is not what it used to be, I can't risk using it for such trivial things as transport"

"A simple 'I couldn't be bothered' would have done nicely Cas"

Cas stared at him blankly as Dean waited for him to say something else. "Any reason you're sat there giving me the eyes buddy?"

"I'm not certain we'll be able to do this Dean, the angels who followed me are with Metatron, we have virtually nothing compared to his forces"

"We can do it Cas, you, me and Sam, that's all we need"

"You really believe we three will be enough?"

"We always have been"

Cas gave him a small, sad smile and Dean returned it. For a moment, they shared a small amount of hope; even it was just for a second.

"Guys!" The moment was suddenly shattered as Sam bellowed from the room Cas had just walked through. They looked back at each other as they heard slow footsteps, and jumped from their chairs. Slowing at the stairs, they were all surprised to see Gadreel before them. He raised his hands in surrender as he came to a halt before them. "I'm not here to fight"

"I thought about what you said, something needs to be done about Metatron" his words were directed at Castiel as the three of them stared at him.

"We should trust you why?" Sam growled, a thunderous look upon his face.

"Because I can give him to you. I know where Metatron is. I know everything" Gadreel could see they were still unconvinced at what he was saying.

"I know the bombers.. they were his agents, not yours" His eyes pleaded with Cas as he looked towards him. Cas' shoulders sunk as he tried to deal with this information. All the trust he'd had in his angels… pointless.

"You don't trust me, fine, I understand. I've.. made mistakes. But haven't you? Haven't we all?" Gadreel's frustration grew as Sam and Dean glanced at each other, their scepticism plain to see.

"At least give me a chance!" Dean locked eyes with his brother again, making his decision quickly. He walked down the rest of the steps towards Gadreel, stopping a few paces away and extending his hand. Relief flooded Gadreel's face, and his own hand extended to grasp Dean's.

As their eyes met, footsteps sounded in the corridor behind Sam and Lara appeared with a small book in her hands.

"Guys I think I found something, it's probably nothing but…" She stopped dead as she looked up to see the scene before her. Gadreel turned his head toward her, and she promptly dropped the book she held and it clattered to the floor.

"Gadreel" she breathed, her started to beat faster and faster, her fingertips began to tingle and a flush rose in her cheeks. He opened his mouth to say something but never got it out in time, as Dean reached behind his back and pulled the first blade from his jeans.

In one quick movement he had brought the blade up across Gadreel's chest and was ready to attack again.


	7. Chapter 7

Lara had seen wounds much worse than this. She'd dealt with lost limbs, severed arteries and knife wounds that went so deep you could see the bone. Seen more than her fair share of violence and death, and she was fine to admit that.

Yet when she looked at the amount of blood that was constantly running out of Gadreel's chest, she felt like she would faint right there and then.

She was only snapped out of her trance like state when she saw Sam and Cas run forward to hold Dean back from attacking Gadreel once more. Lara tried to use her basic instinct, forget it was him she was looking at, forget she had ever laid eyes on him before and focus on the problem at hand.

First problem; Dean.

She pushed all thoughts aside as she rushed towards Sam and Cas struggling to hold back Dean, the strange blade still in his hand. Facing him, she grabbed the edges of his shirt "Dean! Drop the blade" His eyes looked straight past hers, his brow furrowed and his entire body hummed with adrenaline. "Dean!" Finally he met her eyes for a fleeting second and she no longer saw Dean, whatever he was now wasn't… human.

"Get out of my way. He deserves to die"

"Drop the blade first"

"I said get out of my way"

Lara's anger rose and snapped. Taking a step backwards, she let go of his shirt, clenched a fist and promptly swung it towards his face. The impact made Dean fall back into Cas, and the blade he had so tightly clenched lay several paces away from him.

"And I said drop the fucking blade"

Quelling her disgust, she turned away and let Sam and Cas deal with him. She would help later, if she could bring herself to even look at Dean ever again.

Second problem; Gadreel.

There was now a small puddle of blood surrounding Gadreel as he lay propped up against a pole by the stairs, his hand lay across his chest and his breathing was heavy as Lara ran to him and knelt by his side. She felt sick looking at him. His eyes fluttered open as she pried his hand away from the wound, she could feel his eyes on her as she thought about what to do.

"It's.. you" Gadreel's voice was shaky, the puddle of blood was growing around him and his face turned whiter by the second.

"Don't speak, it won't help"

"But it is.. you"

Lara took her eyes away from his bleeding chest and looked at his face instead. She wasn't sure if it was the loss of blood or his true emotions, but he was smiling weakly at her, his eyes were the only part of him that were shining brightly with life. She smiled back, gently pushing his air away from his face.

"Yes, it's me"

As he tried to say something more, he began to cough up blood, his eyes rolling back into his head. "Shit, no no no" Lara's head swam with every thought and emotion she could feel, muddling her instinct immediately. As she panicked she felt a hand on her shoulder and whipped her head round to see Cas standing behind her.

"Step away, I can help"

When she didn't move, Cas gently pushed her away and knelt beside Gadreel , assessing the damage. Gadreel's eyes flickered like butterfly wings as he recognised Cas' face in front of him. "Brother don't"

"Please, don't object"

Cas placed his hand upon Gadreel's head and the open flesh on his chest began to fuse together with surprising speed. As the colour returned to Gadreel's face and his breathing slowed to normal, Lara moved back to his side and eyed his chest suspiciously. Cas stood and turned back towards where Sam had managed to miraculously find a length of rope to bind Dean to a leg of the table in the research room, the first blade safely stored away in a box.


	8. Chapter 8

Lara couldn't be in the room any longer. Suddenly the walls were too close and the earth was going to swallow her whole if she didn't get out immediately. "I have to go" she blurted out, before turning and running up the stairs and out door. Sam made to go after her but Gadreel held out a hand to stop him. "You'll panic her, I'll go"

Sam frowned as he watched Gadreel disappear up the stairs after her; the day was taking strange turns all too quickly for him to comprehend.

* * *

Blinking in the glare of the sun, Gadreel stepped out of the bunker and gently shut the door behind him. Directly ahead of him stood Lara; her back turned to him as she leaned on the rails opposite the door, her head hanging low. She heard him approach but ignored his presence, keeping her eyes tight shut and instead focusing on inhaling the cool, clean air and refreshing her mind.

It was only when her heart rate began to slow down and the foggy feeling lifted from her mind did she realise she'd had a mild panic attack, and automatically pushed the nauseous feeling out if her chest. Inhaling deeply through her nose, she lifted her head and breathed out slowly, opening her eyes as she did so.

"I thought you were dead" Lara's voice was calm and steady as she continued to stare at the landscape ahead of her, her knuckles quickly turning white from gripping the railing.

"You saw Castiel heal me, you know-"

"Before today! I spent all those months thinking you were dead you son of a bitch!" She could feel her eyes beginning to sting with tears, feel that all too familiar lump in her throat that made it seem impossible to breathe. Lara turned to look at him and mentally scolded herself in the process, for the hot tears were now dangerously close to spilling down her cheeks.

Gadreel was frowning at her, his inability to understand human emotions was not ideal for this situation, he couldn't see why it would matter to her if he were dead or alive.

"I don't understand"

"Of course you don't! You never understand, that's the whole fucking problem!"

The tears had begun to trail down her face and all at once her composure failed, sobs were forcing themselves from her throat as she flung herself against his chest and let her emotions go. Gadreel looked down at her body heaving with cries and slowly placed his arms round her middle, which only seemed to make her cry harder.

"I am.. Sorry. I didn't realise you felt so strongly"

In between sniffles and cries Lara managed a somewhat strangled laugh, and pulled back from the awkward embrace. "Have I ever told you what a complete ass you are?"

"You used to tell me every day"

"Perhaps I should have mentioned it more" Lara smiled as she quickly dried her tears with the end of her sleeve, rubbing her eyes to try and make the redness fade.

Gadreel stared at her with his usual frown etched upon his face, he tentatively reached out and held her shoulder with one hand; unsure if this was the correct thing to do. Lara looked at him and laughed, "I'm fine honestly; you don't have to try and pretend it, or comfort me or whatever"

"I want to"

".. Seriously?"

"Why wouldn't I?"


End file.
